Main menu

The ‘I Hear You’ project is a video series that highlights the real life, word-for-word stories of refugees from around the world. As they are unable to tell their stories publicly, 14 celebrities interpretate their words. Watch the videos and hear their heartbreaking stories.

In Rwanda, 45% of people live in poverty and rely on small-scale farming. There is no gas or electricity so women and their children spend hours every day collecting water and firewood, which traps them in a cycle of poverty. We contributed to a biogas digester project that is changing many families' lives and contributes to reduce inequality for women. Find out how.

The global economy is broken. 8 billionaires own the same wealth as half the world’s population. Meanwhile, every day 1 in 9 people go to bed hungry. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can choose another future. Join us and demand an economy that works for everyone and not just the few. Share this video and sign the petition.

Andrew, once an industrious farmer from Pulka, Borno Estate, in Nigeria, found his life turned upside down when he was caught up in the conflict with Boko Haram and other armed groups in 2012. He and his family are becoming resilient and have learned to adapt to the challenges thanks to an "Unconditional Cash Program" supported by Oxfam.

Millions of people are being forced from their homes, risking everything to escape conflict, disaster, poverty or hunger. From those fleeing the war in Syria or climate change-induced droughts, to those stranded in inadequate conditions in Europe, you can help us give life-saving support to refugees in the countries where they need it most.

With no end in sight to the conflict in Syria, hundreds of thousands of people are living in desperate conditions and exposed to continuing violence. Today, half the pre-conflict population of 22 million Syrians have fled their homes and more than 13.5 million people urgently need your help.

You are here

A long way from Hogwarts: Bonnie Wright witnesses the food crisis in Senegal

Bonnie met families in southern Senegal affected by the food crisis

I hope that with public support, Oxfam can continue to help people in these moments and tackle the underlying causes of the crisis to help prevent them happening again.

Bonnie Wright

Actress and Oxfam ambassador

Chances are you know her as Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, but there’s more to actress Bonnie Wright than magic and monsters.

Bonnie recently visited Senegal with us in July to see firsthand how the food crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa is affecting vulnerable communities, and to learn about what Oxfam’s doing to support them.

Bonnie met local families in the Kedougou region of Southern Senegal. Initially surprised that a country facing such severe food shortages could be so green, she said: “When I arrived … it was hard to see that this was a country where thousands of people are suffering from extreme hunger … everywhere was green and lush. I quickly learned however that this green was hiding the reality, a deep seated hunger that was so present in the lives of the families I spoke to.”

One of the people Bonnie met was mother-of-six Dieynasa Ba (35). As the lean season approaches, Dieynasa is worried about how she’ll feed her family. Her village relies on agriculture and when bad weather ruins their crops, they have no food to survive.

“We are farmers, only farmers. We rely on agriculture, without this we have no food to survive. Last year we didn’t have anything. It was really bad, things were really tight,” she explains. Whereas her family used to eat three meals a day, now they’re surviving on just one meal. One of her sons rides his bike 7km to school and back again every day — needless to say, she wonders how long he can keep this up on an empty stomach.

“We are supposed to be able to provide our children with three meals a day but since the harvest we can only provide one meal. You realize that it’s very difficult but I try to keep food mainly for the children.”

Because Dieynasa doesn’t have a job or source of income, her husband has had to move away in order to make money for the family. “Your husband can’t do anything if you don’t have a job. My husband had to go off to find work and then come back at night, sometimes with nothing. He is the chief of the family and it is difficult for him not to be able to provide for us, he feels embarrassed to see his family hungry.”

Bonnie Wright also met the family of Aissatou Kanle and Ibel and their 8 children and dog. They are farmers who grow corn and rice. “Last year the corn was destroyed by flooding, and then the following lack of rain destroyed my rice harvest,“ Aissatou says. “So with the last year I didn’t have enough of rice or corn to sell or for my family to eat.“

The only way they survive is by asking their neighbors for help, or ask their parents to help feed their children. “I had to go find work building toilets in the mines, so I could raise money to give to my wife to provide for ten people in my family. I had to walk three hours there and back with only very little food inside me.

“The future of my family is education. I will fight to give them food so they can learn. I can’t just feed them without seeing them go to school and I can’t let them go to school without eating. I will fight for them. I don’t want to see them having the same life as me.“

“My harvest last year was really badly affected, especially when my plants were growing,” said Fatima Diallo, a 20-year-old farmer struggling to feed her six children.

“My husband died and I was married to my husband’s brother. My new husband does not have the means to feed me or my family. So when the harvests are not good, I worry about my family and how I will feed my children. The health of my children is a problem, one of my children is very sick and I have to borrow money so I can get to the hospital.”

Now Fatima has received a cash transfer card from Oxfam. “When I receive the money from Oxfam I will take my child to hospital, and buy food,” she says. “But I also want to buy some materials for school. I want a different future for my children. I hope that education will change their future.”

It’s a difficult situation for everyone affected, but with your support, families like Dieynasa’s, Aissatou's and Fatima's can take the first steps to getting their lives back on track. As Bonnie says: “I hope that with public support, Oxfam can continue to help people in these moments and tackle the underlying causes of the crisis to help prevent them happening again.”

Oxfam International Survey

Please help us to improve the Oxfam website! This short survey should take just a few minutes to complete. You can opt to make your responses anonymous. The survey will close on 13 March 2015 at 5 pm GMT. We'll pick one respondent at random to receive a $35 Good Books gift voucher by 31 March 2015. We value your feedback.